GB2173162A

GB2173162A - Ingot conveyor

Info

Publication number: GB2173162A
Application number: GB08605648A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Donald Lewis
Original assignee: SHEPPARD INGOT CASTING MACHINE
Current assignee: SHEPPARD INGOT CASTING MACHINE
Priority date: 1985-03-07
Filing date: 1986-03-07
Publication date: 1986-10-08
Also published as: GB8605648D0; GB2173162B; GB8505894D0

Abstract

Apparatus for inverting alternate ingots travelling on a conveyor comprises a main input conveyor (20) on which all the ingots travel in the same attitude. An inverter conveyor (22) can be lifted to raise selected ingots off the main conveyor and then to drop them, inverted onto an output conveyor (27). Any ingots not picked up by the conveyor 22 are picked up by the wings (14) by the conveyor 27 which comprises spaced parallel chains or belts and allows the ingot to turn by gravity into an upright position. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Apparatus for orientating and stacking ingots This invention relates to apparatus for receiving multiple cast ingots from an automatic casting machine and delivering them in selected controlled attitudes to a stacking point.

A conventional metal ingot has a pair of lugs or wings one at each end adjacent the upper surface of the ingot, intended to facilitate handling by means of a forklift truck. When in the upright position the undersurface is flat and horizontal and the two opposite flank surfaces are inclined inwards and downwards at an angle of approximately 20 . If such ingots are stacked side by side all in the same attitude there will be considerable waste space between the ingots due to the sloping flanks. This waste space can be avoided if alternate ingots are inverted.

The ingots are normally delivered from an auto matic caster onto an endless conveyor and problems occur in providing for automatic inversion of alternate or selected ingots. If the inverter includes a grab with means for rotating the grab and then lowering and releasing each ingot the time involved is appreciable and it may require that the main conveyor should be frequently halted. If any ingot is out of position on the conveyor the grab may fail to operate properly, with risk of mal-function and obstruction of the conveyor track by any non-aligned ingots.

Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide an improved system for controlling the attitudes, and if necessary inverting selected ingots received on an endless conveyor, and preferably without any requirement for a grab to seize individual ingots on the conveyor.

Broadly stated the invention consists in a conveyor system for automatically orientating or inverting ingots or the like, comprising a main conveyor having one or more parellel chains or belts, an inverter conveyor associated with the main conveyor and comprising one or more further chains or belts, and having means for raising or displacing the outlet end thereof, and an output conveyor associated with the main conveyor and comprising a further pair of chains or belts spaced further apart to pick up extensions or lugs on the two ends of each ingot.

From another aspect the invention consists in apparatus for orientating metal ingots or other elongated objects having two flank surfaces with an extension at each end, comprising a main conveyor arranged to transport the ingots all in the same attitude lying on the same flank surface across the conveyor, and adjustable inverter conveyor associated with the main conveyor and arranged to be movable between raised and lowered positions at its exit end and arranged to pick up ingots received from the main conveyor and cause them to roll over into an inverted position on a third outlet conveyor, the output conveyor also having two spaced conveyor chains or belts arranged to engage the extensions on the ends of the ingots leaving the main conveyor whereby the said ingots turn in the opposite direction onto the output conveyor.

Preferably the apparatus includes means for selectively raising and lowering the inverter conveyor to invert selected ingots received from the main conveyor, and the control may be automatically operated to invert alternate ingots. The apparatus may be used in conjunction with a final stacker which receives groups of parallel ingots from the output conveyor, alternately inverted, and stacks these in multiple layers to form a compact pile, and it may also be combined with an automatic loading device arranged to place the ingots on the entry to the main conveyor, all in the same attitude with one inclined flank surface on the plane of the conveyor and the top surface of each ingot facing forwards.

The invention may be performed in various ways and one specific embodiment will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure l is a perspective view of a typical metal ingot, Figure 2 is an end view of the ingot, Figure 3 is a diagrammatic side view illustrating the way in which the ingots roll forwards off the inverter conveyor, Figure 4 is a diagrammatic side view illustrating how the ingots tip backwards on transfer from the main conveyor to the output conveyor, Figure 5 is a diagrammatic end view of the system showing where the three conveyors pick up the ingots, Figure 6 is a side view illustrating a typical ingot stack, Figure 7 is a simplified plan view of one constructional form of a conveyor and inverter system according to the invention, and Figure 8 is a side view of the system of Figure 7.

Each standard ingot, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, is a solid metal bar having flat parallel top and bottom surfaces 10, 11, and inclined flank surfaces 12, 13 tapering downwards and inwards. At each end is a projecting wing or lug 14 flush with the top surface 10 and having an undersurface 15which is positioned above the centre of gravity of the bar.

These wings permit the forks 18 of a forklift truck to pick up one or more ingots or a stack, as shown in Figure 2.

The invention is based on the delivery of ingots automatically from an ingot casting machine (not shown) onto a main conveyor 20, all orientated similarly. As shown diagrammatically in Figure 3 the top surface 10 of each ingot faces forwards in the direction of travel X, but is inclined slightly upwards and rearwards owing to the inclination of the flanks 12, 13. If an ingot is transferred from the main conveyor 20 onto an inclined inverter conveyor 22 it will be carried up and over the peak of the inverter conveyor and then on the downward run it will be tipped forwards, as indicated at 24, and will eventually roll forward onto the output conveyor 25 in the inverted position shown at 26.

By contrast, as illustrated in Figure 4, if the inverter conveyor 22 is displaced so that it does not pick up the ingot, any ingot reaching position 30 at the end ofthe main conveyor will be picked up by the two spaced belts or chains 27 of the output conveyor 25. These are spaced apart, as shown in Figure 5, so as to engage the wings 14 of the ingot and when the ingot leaves the main conveyor 20 and is solely supported on its wings it will automatically turn in an anti-clockwise direction into the upright position shown at 31.

Thus from a sequence of ingots travelling on the main conveyor 20 all orientated in the same way, any selected ingot or alternate ingots can be inverted simply by raising and lowering the inverter conveyor 22. The system is entirely continuous and noninterrupted and operates continuously so long as ingots are supplied onto the input conveyor. There is no mechanical grab and no possibility of the grab failing to pick up any selected ingot.

At the output end of the output conveyor the ingots are delivered to the unloading station 34 alternately upwards and downwards and can therefore be readily removed and stacked in the manner illustrated in Figure 6.

A practical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in Figures 7 and 8 in which parts corresponding to those of the previous figures carry the same reference numerais for convenience. In this example the main conveyor 20 comprises a pair of endless chains, not illustrated, running over coaxial sprockets 35 at the input end and corresponding sprockets 36 at the output end. Over the intervening travel the chains are guided and supported on tracks 37 carried by the main structure of the conveyor. These two chains are spaced apart at a distance designed to engage the flat undersurface of the ingots, as illustrated at 20 in Figure 5.

The idler spindle 40 carrying the two end sprockets 36 of the main conveyor also carries two further pairs of sprockets 41,42. The two inner sprockets 42 carry a further pair of shorter endless conveyor chains (not illustrated) which run over a further pair of sprockets 43 at the output end, these sprockets being carried on a frame 44 which is vertically adjustable by means of a ram 45. This constitutes the inverter conveyor referred to above. In the lowered position of the ram this invertor conveyor lies flush with the plane of the main conveyor, but when the ram is actuated to raise the frame the sprockets 43 and the inverter conveyor are raised, as illustrated in Figure 8. is conveyor thus corresponds to the inverter conveyor 22 of Figure 3.

The idler spindle 40 also carries the further pair of sprockets 41 spaced apartto align with the wings 14 on the ingots, as illustrated at 27 in Figure 5. The output conveyor chains, not illustrated, carried by these sprockets 41 run over drive sprockets 46 at the output end of the conveyor and, as explained previously they function to pick up the wings on those ingots which are not raised and inverted bythe inverter conveyor, and thus cause these selected ingots to turn in the reverse direction thereby producing the alternate pattern referred to above.

Thus it will be seen that the invention provides a method of orientating or inverting ingots or the like, in which they are moved continuously all in the same direction by an endless conveyor and selected ingots are inverted by a combination of the movement of the conveyor and gravity.

Preferably the ingots or other objects are turned in different direction by causing them to be supported at different points in relation to their centres of gravity.

Claims

1. A conveyor system for automatically orientating or inverting ingots or the like, comprising a main conveyor having one or more parallel chains or belts, an inverter conveyor associated with the main conveyor and comprising one or more further chains or belts, and having means for raising or displacing the outlet end thereof, and an output conveyor associated with the main conveyor and comprising a further pair of chains or belts spaced further apart to pick up extensions or lugs on the two ends of each ingot.

2. Apparatus for orientating metal ingots or other elongated objects having two flank surfaces with an extension at each end, comprising a main conveyor arranged to transport the ingots all in the same attitude lying on the same flank surface across the conveyor, an adjustable inverter conveyor associated with the main conveyor and arranged to be movable between raised and lowered positions at its exit end and arranged to pick up ingots received from the main conveyor and cause them to roll over into an inverted position on a third output conveyor, the output conveyor also having two spaced conveyor chains or belts arranged to engage the extensions on the ends of the ingots leaving the main conveyor whereby the said ingots turn in the opposite direction onto the output conveyor.

3. Apparatus according to Claims 1 and 2, includes means for selectively raising and lowering the inverter conveyor to invert selected ingots received from the main conveyor.

4. Apparatus according to Claim 3, in which the control is automatically operated to invert alternate ingots.

5. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, in conjunction with a final stacker which receives groups of parallel ingots from the output conveyor, alternately inverted, and stacks these in multiple layers to form a compact pile.

6. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, combined with an automatic loading device arranged to place the ingots on the entry to the main conveyor, all in the same attitude with one inclined flank surface on the plane of the conveyor and the top surface of each ingot facing forwards.

7. Apparatus for handling and inverting selected ingots delivered on a conveyor, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.